


Scary As You

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 02:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17889452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "I discovered via Tumblr that there’s an Italian lullaby in which the misbehaving child is threatened to be left in the Boogeyman’s care for a month. So what if that actually happened?Just roll with the prompt. It can be serious and dark or humorous and lighthearted if you so choose. Pitch could very well be just a scary babysitter who constantly keeps scaring the crap out of the poor kid but in truth actually enjoys having another person in his realm.This person can be anyone you want. It doesn’t even have to be a child. It could for example be human Jack… or even Jack Frost. After all, he DOES hold the record in the naughty list so maybe the Guardians got bored and dumped him on Pitch while telling him to “Do his job.” Heck, it could even be one of Tooth’s fairies for all I care...[cut for length]"I think Pitch would actually be kind of chill about this, mostly because I think Pitch would be a pretty cool protector-type-person if he actually had a job to do. (He teaches the kids left in his lair to be scary.)





	Scary As You

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr 5/21/2014.

Pitch sighed as he looked down at the dark-haired little girl. Her face was still blotchy and red from crying, but now she looked up at him with wide eyes, obviously too terrified to cry. Pitch approved of this, mostly, since he preferred silence to wailing and fear to everything else. What he didn’t approve of were children that appeared in his lair out of nowhere. Whenever one showed up, it trigged wild fluctuations in belief, as both the parents and the child were forced to face the reality that the child really had been whisked away to the Boogeyman. This wasn’t something most adults dealt with very well.  
  
Well, it was too late now.   
  
“What’s your name?” Pitch asked.  
  
The little girl opened her mouth, but no sound came out.  
  
“Look, you have to tell me something. Though we  _are_  the only ones here, I’d rather not call you ‘girl’ for a month.”  
  
“Nella,” the girl whispered. “Are you sure—sure that we’re the only ones here?”  
  
“Yes—oh, I know what you’re asking about. Come on out, everyone!” At his call, dozens of shadowy nightmare creatures crawled halfway out of their shadows, blinking pale, luminous eyes.  
  
Nella shrieked and spun around, trying not to let any of them out of her sight, searching for some sort of refuge. All she managed to find to cling to was Pitch’s leg.  
  
Pitch sighed again. This always happened, and he could never figure out  _why_. He gently pried Nella away and knelt down. “Look here,” he said. “These shadows are mine, and all they do is scare. But they’re not going to hurt you.”  
  
“My mama says I don’t have the sense to be scared when I should,” Nella said.  
  
“You have sense enough to be afraid in the Boogeyman’s lair,” Pitch said. “It’s very courteous of you. All we want is some fear, and you’ve given it to us. But, just out of curiosity,” he continued, while settling cross-legged on the floor. “Why did your mother say that, do you think?”  
  
“Because I climbed up the tree I fell out of last year because I wanted to stay away from Giovanni. But I knew I shouldn’t hide underneath the cart horse! But it’s not nice to hide from your cousin…”  
  
Pitch raised his eyebrows. “Well, Nella, you may be confident that I’m not going to presume to give you advice on how to be nice. I have no experience in the matter,” he said with a grin, earning himself a small smile in return. “As the Boogeyman, though, I’m not going to tell you to be scared less often, even of Giovanni. I’m already thin enough. But, Nella, how would you like to learn how to be scary?”  
  
“As scary as  _you_? Nella asked.  
  
“Nearly so,” he said, standing up. “We only have a month, and you don’t want to end up only with shadows, do you?” He offered his hand to her, and she took it.  
  
“But a month is a long time! And I wouldn’t just have shadows, I could still talk to you.”   
  
“I…I suppose you could,” Pitch said, leading Nella towards the parts of his lair more suitable for a human child. She wouldn’t, not once she was scary enough herself, but he’d let himself imagine. It was, though he didn’t have much experience with them, a nice thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> mira-eyeteeth reblogged this from plush-anon and added:  
> Ehehehe yes this is so precious I approve
> 
> plush-anon said: Oh this is precious I love it.
> 
> tejoxys said: Awww <3


End file.
